Fell From: An Intimate Tale of a Follower's Thirst
by ashehole
Summary: Follow the life of a member of evil as he goes from Initiate to Follower through the lives of two sisters: One a power hungry Follower, and the other a fallen Daughter. Where will the thirst for acceptance take them?
1. The Protegee

**AN: I don't know how this will work, but I was tired of the same ol' Daughters, and since there is no new book to work off of, I'm just gonna make shit up from the past. Using Followers. And Daughters. And the quest to the ultimate. I hope you like it. If not… Oh well? Review anyway?**

**Summary: An expose on one man's life as he becomes entrapped in the Atrox as a plot by a gifted Follower to become **_**lecta**_** by making her twin Daughter of the Moon fall into the clutches of evil. As their three lives unfold through his eyes, he shows what it's like in the dog-eat-dog world of Followers. An idea that came to me because new stories were needed that didn't really involve the usual set of characters.**

**Disclaimer: I, Batsu-chan, once more, honestly does not own the DotM. If I, Batsu-chan, did, well... Chris would be alive. Okay. Alive. Cuz Chris is uber awesome. And Batsu-chan loves Chris more than she loves... Um... More than she loves her Sierra Mist! Also, Book 13 would be out and SotD would definitely not be cancelled. :3**

**Chapter One: The Protégée**

Her name was Gemma.

Gem-Ma.

That was how she pronounced it, so crisply and clean. _Gem-Ma._

It was how she introduced herself to me, her eyes dark and curious and inviting as they laid upon me. She leaned in close, her body on mine, her mouth on my ear so I could hear her over the raging drunk, high, and sex addicted partiers of the 1960s. "My name is Gemma. Do you want to find a real party?"

Yes. I wanted a real party. If it involved this sunfire beauty, I wanted anything. She had me the moment she spoke into my young, seventeen-year-old ear. Taking me by the hand, Gemma led me out of the club and into the blackened night.

A real party was what I was told. A lifetime is what she should have said. We danced in a graveyard, her body on mine. We drank in a graveyard, our bottles littering the final resting place of people, some long since dead. I remember rolling around in the dirt, laughing as she whispered dark temptations in my ear with her cool, crisp voice. I remember being shocked when she said she was only sixteen, and that I, a pathetic nobody, was her ultimate ticket to success.

I didn't care what I had to do. I'd do it for her, for Gem-Ma.

That night in the graveyard, in the dirt, on the plots, she made me an Initiate.

Before that night, I had never heard of the Atrox, but once Gemma brought me into the fold, I felt good. You know that warm, fuzzy feeling you get when you look at newborn babies? Yeah, imagine the polar opposite, and that's the exciting depth you get from the Atrox.

Gemma and I were some of the youngest in the fold, but it was already known how bright, quick, and ruthless Gemma was, which was why, in under a year she, went from Initiate to Follower. Gemma was amazing, and I was lucky to be turned by her.

She hardly talked to anyone else that was a Follower, besides me of course, unless she absolutely had to. Gemma did her own thing, and she did it well. Except for one guy, one guy that she always went back to for help. He was a scary kind of guy, even today, whose Immortal eyes terrified the shit out of me. She said there wasn't a reason to be jealous when they would speak and I ended up glowering in the corner. This guy, this arrogant, pompous, pretty boy named Stanton was the one who had turned her. He was her mentor, like she was to me. She was one of his many turned, but his few bright, and he liked keeping tabs on my Gemma.

Gemma had plans for her future with the Atrox.

"I'm going to be one of them," she whispered to me on a cool night as we were privileged to a ceremony.

"One of who?" I asked quietly, my eyes on the flames that danced around the body of a boy made _lectus_.

"Them." The flames reflected in her black eyes as she looked at me. "I want to step into that fire, too."

I blew air through my lips, listening to the chanting of the Followers around me. I was still an Initiate, wanting to be a Follower, and she was a Follower wanting to be a _lecta_. So, whatever she had planned, I'd go for it.

"How do you plan to do that, Gemma?"

Never before had I seen such a damned, wicked smile.

In the four months that Gemma turned me, she'd been hiding a secret. Her final rung-on-the-ladder to power, you could really say. It was why she turned me, it was why she waited so long to put her plan into action.

Every Initiate learns after they turn about the "enemy". A group of girls, what they call "goddesses". They are these daughters of Selene, the moon goddess. I thought it funny, all these kids this goddess had, all girls. In any case, a bunch of girls are the supreme enemies of the evil Atrox. Go figure.

I don't make the rules…

So when Gemma hit me with the news, I was stunned. I guess it was because I was still so new, I still had those old feelings.

"I'm going to turn a Daughter of the Moon to the Atrox," Gemma explained, a trickle of smile on her mouth.

"You can do that? I mean, you can make a goddess fall?"

She took my hands in hers, eyes bright with that mischief that attracted her to me in the first place. "Yes. And we're going to do it to my sister."

"Eh…What?"

"Right. I never told you, but my twin sister is a Daughter of the Moon."

Her easy manner at which she could tell me she wanted to fell her sister was…frightening. Her twin sister, _her enemy._

"How do _I_ play into this?"

"My Initiate, you are going to be her temptation."

I licked my dry lips, but it didn't help. I had to look away from her. I knew, that first night she approached me, that I'd do anything for the sunfire Gemma. Now, though, something began to gnaw at me as I was forced to ask her.

"Is this why you chose me?"

"Yes," came her swift reply. "I knew you were the right one to appeal to my sister. Plus, you wanted to belong. Do you not now?"

It was years before I realized that the empty, gnawing feeling in my gut was the false glitz and dreams the Atrox presented to each and every Follower. _Years._ Right then, though, I chalked it all up to her request of me.

**AN: There you have it. Chapter one of my new story. Tell me what you think.**


	2. The Enemy

**Chapter Two: The "Enemy"**

Gemma had me on "stalking" duty. I was following these pathetic girls around, trying to devise my perfect move. I kept a far distance so that the round objects around their necks didn't light up, announcing my presence.

Daughters of the Moon, all in their straight skirts and collared shirts, looking clean and pressed as if they had just stepped out of a catalog. Except for one. A feisty red head whom I wrongly assumed was Gemma's sister, Gennifer, because of that hair. She dressed in ragged jeans and boots that should have made her trip and shirts that were little more than mere strips of cloth.

Watching them, I got a flavor for each, the ability to know who they were. Gemma wasn't about to sacrifice herself in an attempt to merely point out Gennifer, so I had to watch them all. And just wait for that slip of name to each beautiful, ethereal face.

There was the one who could slip through walls, doors, cars. Her body melded with the object and she could easily move through them all. She was brunette with blonde highlights, a pale face not uncommon in these parts, and pretty blue eyes. I easily put her in my "Never Done Anything Bad" category. The quintessential good girl of the 1960s. I soon found out that her name was Helena.

Helena hung out a lot with another of the Daughters, a goddess with the power of telekinesis. I had a laugh with this blonde who struggled to contain the objects that seem to move and rise on their own around her. She seemed to be strung out a lot, and I felt that she was the druggie of the group, despite her nice clothes (which I suspected Helena provided her with). Helena called her Kristina.

I was disappointed to learn that the gorgeous red head of their group was not, in fact, Gennifer. Instead, they called her Bird, a fitting name for such a light-built girl…who _flew_. I think I almost died of shock when I saw her kick off the ground and circle high above her friends' heads. I was also afraid she'd notice me!

That left the last one, the one I noticed but didn't figure because they were so different, her and Gemma. While my Gemma had the hair of fire, Gennifer's was long and full of the darkest night. Gennifer was soft, with soft eyes and a soft face and soft demeanor. She was nothing like Gemma. _Nothing_. And I had to admit, I found that appealing, especially since I had been around such a ruthless girl for so long.

I thought her power best, too. You know those Flash comic books? Yeah, she could do that. Run.

She should have been running _from me_.

I waited awhile longer. Until the right moment to introduce myself. After all, I was an Initiate, and she a Daughter, and we were enemies, naturally. As soon as I got too close to her, she would glow. I would be… Well, I'd probably get my ass kicked, bluntly put.

She needed to be alone in order for me to approach her. If she was alone, it'd make my job easier.

But how does one make a goddess fall from her marble pedestal?

At night, I'd go to the dump of an apartment with Gemma. At day, I grew infatuated with my Daughters, especially Gennifer.

"Gemma, I can't do it," I spoke softly. I could never raise my voice. I was weak, broken. I often wondered what kind of Follower I would make.

A following Follower…

She turned her anger at the position she was in on me. She hissed, raised her hand, and let one dainty fist hit solidly across my chin. I fell back onto our dirty floor, adverting my eyes quickly.

"I need you to help me! Are you trying to back out?"

"N-no. I'm sorry, Gemma. How else…I just…I don't know how to make Gennifer come to the Atrox!"

Gemma sighed, coming over to sit on my lap. She held my head between her destructive hands, our eyes on level with one another.

"You don't. Befriend her. You are the enemy to her, but my sister is weak to those in need. You, baby, are in deep need. You can be saved, given back your hope. She'll try to do that. She's so close to her choice, we can ensnare her. Just be yourself."

I kissed her softly, thinking over her words carefully. "Can our hope really be restored?"

A dark look overcame her face, and I prepared to be hit again. "No. It's propaganda. We are the damned."

We are the damned.

We are the enemy.

We are the evil.

We are the hopeless.

We are the Atrox.

The Daughter with the power to be lightning…She was the target.


	3. The Target

**Chapter Three: The Target**

It's a funny thing, feeling bad about trying to hurt someone. I've gone to parties, preyed on boys and girls alike to see if they were like me so that Gemma could steal their hope, or if I wasn't with her, I'd do it. But this was so different. They were all broken and messed up already, like me. The Daughters of the Moon, they weren't like Followers. They weren't broken inside, except for maybe Kristina and her drugs.

Gennifer, she was good. She had a good heart. I was still going to follow Gemma's order. I wasn't crazy enough not to. That didn't mean I had to feel good about it.

I don't know, I guess it was called love, maybe? I loved Gemma? After all, I sacrificed my life to be with her. I would have done anything for her. Technically, I guess I was now.

Plus, I wanted what she wanted, thirst for it. _Power_. I craved power.

I couldn't watch anymore. Gemma told me so.

Now I sat outside of Gennifer's favorite diner. Sometimes, all the Daughters would go there together. Mostly though, it was just Gennifer, by herself in the corner booth. Sometimes she'd order a cherry Coke, sometimes a slice of pie just warm enough to melt the homemade ice cream the diner was semi-famous for.

Whatever. Point was, she went there alone, so it was my best chance.

I had to wonder what made the twins so different. How could Gennifer be of a good heart, and Gemma be a ruthless bitch?

Maybe I'd find out…

I sat on top of the bench, my hands dangling between my knees, head lowered with hair in my face. What can I say? I was pathetic before the Atrox came along and afterwards surely didn't improve my lacking social skills. It doesn't give you instant charm. You're born with it or someone takes the time to teach you. The Atrox doesn't grant it.

I felt her mind the moment she walked out of the diner. It was a subtle move on my behalf, brushing up on her thoughts. She wasn't like her sister, skilled in keeping a lot out of her mind. Gennifer thought of the cheeseburger she just ate, a meeting later with Bird, and feeding her cat when she got home. Simplicity, beautiful simplicity.

She drew in a sharp breath all of a sudden, as if she knew I was taking a peek at her mind, though that wasn't it. No, it was that stupid medallion she wore that screamed, "Yeah, I'm one of those damn moon brats!" It was probably on fire against her skin, I was so close.

She looked around, her eyes peeking through her black hair until they settled on me. I gave her a wink and smile, both of which she didn't respond to in kind. She actually took a step away from me, her hands on her birthright.

_"Dea_," I purred, holding my hands up in the universal sign for no harm.

Still Gennifer was on the cautious side. "If you've come to attack me, it will be no good for you, Follower."

"I haven't come for that. Peace," I laughed. A wider smile, but she was still wary. Did she already know what her sister had become?

"There is no peace between us," she said, looking me over carefully, sizing me up.

"There is now. I'm not attacking, am I?"

Gennifer clenched her jaw, avoiding my eyes expertly. Wonderful, she's been attacked before and knows how to avoid the dangerous look of a Follower. She was smart.

But I had to laugh again. I was only an Initiate. I didn't possess those powers to trap people in my memories. Hell, I was a leech on Atrox society, bottom feeding.

"What's so funny?" Gennifer demanded.

"Even if I wanted to, I couldn't _harm_ you. I guess I could take your hope, but I don't know how well that would work…" I shrugged, coming clean. Why not be honest? Honesty was the key to trust, and trust was the foundation of any relationship.

She laughed, cool and crisp like the sound of Gemma's voice, only this was insanely better. I couldn't recall ever hearing Gemma laugh, only smile, like being the hopeless took the humor right out of her. But Gennifer was still pure enough to laugh something sweet. If she fell, would that be gone, too?

"You are the worst Follower I have ever met. Seriously, you are not supposed to tell me that I'd beat you." She continued laughing, her hands on her hips now.

I frowned a little at that, her laughter now. "Hey. I'm not that bad."

"Yes, you are. You're pathetic!"

"I'm not sure if you should be teasing your enemy," I growled with the full intensity of a kitten.

"You just told me that you couldn't do anything," Gennifer pointed out.

I smiled, lifting one shoulder in a half shrug. "Whatever."

"Why are you stalking me, Pathetic Follower?"

I gave her a sideways look. How did she know I was following the Daughters?

"Stalking you?"

"Stalking me. What are you trying to do?"

"Push boundaries."

"What boundaries?" She asked, finally curious about what I had to say.

"Our boundaries, Gennifer. The boundaries between us."

She was intrigued now. What was it about me that the twins found appealing that no one saw before?

"You know my name," she whispered, a smile on her face as she walked away, backwards until I drifted into the shadows.

**AN: I'm glad this story is liked. But, more people should review! I get inspiration from reviewers. Read. Review. Because it's important to the insanity of any author!**

**Next: The Boundaries**


	4. The Boundaries

**Chapter Four: The Boundaries**

The Atrox and Selene set the boundaries for Followers and Daughters. I don't know who the first one was to cross them, but I was going to do it now. Just call me a pioneer, okay?

I met Gennifer again, shocking her as I bumped out of a shadow at her. She screamed as I jumped on her back, hugging onto her. In a mad rush, she hit lightning speed until the point where I was clinging for my life. When she finally slowed down, I could feel my limbs shake and seize up until I could no longer hold on.

A good note to remember: Do not startle a Daughter. Not good, not good at all.

She blew air through her lips angrily, furrowing her eyebrows as she leaned over my collapsed body, hands firm on her hips. "What were you thinking?"

"I think I'm dying," I managed to choke out as I rolled onto my side.

"Serves you right," she huffed, but I could see genuine concern on her.

Gennifer held out her gloved hand to me. I took it, using her as a crutch to stand up.

"Just…wanted to keep you on your toes," I sighed, pushing hair out of my face. My arms ached, my lungs screamed, and I was ready to call Meeting Two quits. Seriously. What a mean power she had, that Gennifer.

"What do you want?" She demanded, realizing she was getting too friendly with the enemy now.

"I told you. I want to break boundaries with you, Gennifer," I said, a hopefully innocent smile on my face.

"Can't you be like normal Followers?" A perfect black eyebrow skyrocketed.

But she forgot something important. I could read her mind, if nothing else. She wanted to see this, the broken boundaries. She hated to admit it, but she found me interesting, and cute, in that stupid kind of way.

"No. I'm not even a Follower, yet," I muttered, shrugging.

That got her attention. Her dark eyes widened as she took a new look at me, and new thoughts rushed to her mind. "You're only an Initiate?"

"Yes."

"Why have you sought me out?"

Many answers crossed my mind. Like that her twin sister was twisted and evil and wanted Gennifer to fall for personal gain. Or that I had developed a crush on the Daughters of the Moon, especially her and Bird. Or even that there was a rumor that the Daughters could save Initiates.

But that last one wasn't so important.

"I have nothing better to do with my time," I replied, hoping that was a satisfying answer.

"Oh." She shuffled her feet some, a curious look on her face. "You know my name."

"Gennifer," I repeated, not quite sure why.

She let loose a tiny giggle, cocking her head at me. "What's yours then?"

From there, it was easy. We began walking until we hit the diner, where she bought me lunch—I was broke. We talked, about nothing really. I didn't reveal much about myself, and it was the same with Gennifer. I really wanted to know about Gemma from her sister's mouth, but I knew I had to wait a little longer. We only just jumped one boundary—civil conversation and free food.

It was something. I was proud of myself. I had never really accomplished anything before, and here I was, charming a goddess without the looks of that oh-so-great Stanton. Granted, of course, she was attracted to my stupidity and her quest of spreading world-wide hope, but hey, no complaints.

We met a few more times at the diner over the next week or so. Gennifer always bought me lunch. We always avoided talking about what we both were: A Daughter and an Initiate. It was like it didn't matter, not then.

And I was getting her to open up, little by little as I, too, opened up.

Then she dropped the bombshell on me.

"I'm bringing my friends to our next meeting," she told me over apple pie—the apple pie was my weakness.

I choked on the piece I was eating. "The Daughters?" I couldn't handle that. They would eat me alive!

"Yes, the Daughters. I, uh, told them about you."

Stunned silence. They were going to _eat me_. I just knew it.

"Gennifer, that might not be the wisest idea," I muttered, definitely fearing for my safety. Oh, I wasn't panicking, of course. I was a man, a man backed by the greatest evil the world has never seen, and they were just _girls_.

_I was screwed._

Gennifer, bless her, cared not for the hyperventilating and mumble uttered under my breath. She reached across the table and took my hand, rubbing the back of it with her thumb. A smile, just for me, lit up her face. "We want to save you. _I_ want to save you. You're too soft for the Atrox."

I sighed—something that was happening quite often by this time—and squeezed her hand. "You're too soft for this world, Angel."

She blushed at the compliment, dropping my hand quickly. "Just meet them, okay?"

I always did wonder, almost every day, what was it about those damn twins? I never did get an answer.

**Next Up: Chapter Five- The Daughters**


	5. The Daughters

**AN: Sorry this is so late. I went on a surprise vacation to South Carolina for my uncle's high school graduation, and I just got back. Enjoy!**

**Chapter Five: The Daughters**

Have you ever felt so completely nervous in your life that you could have hurt anyone just to take your mind off of it?

Well, that was me. Who wants to face all four Daughters together? Man, the things one would do to get ahead in life.

Gennifer stared anxiously out the window, searching for me. The other Daughters were with her, laughing and talking. Kristina took notice of Gennifer's plight, but refused to comment on it. All of them were figuring that I wouldn't show up. But I really had to.

For Gennifer's sake and trust.

I had to suck it up. They were only girls, so I could try and do this.

She smiled and breathed a sigh of relief when I walked into the diner. I saw it physically and felt it in her mind.

Bird had a dark look on her face as she turned to face me. I knew it, immediately, that she did not want me here, did not want to interact with Gennifer, and did not want me to interfere. It made my crush a little more intense; this one was insanely smart Daughter.

Even Helena had this wary feeling about her when I slowly approached their booth.

Besides Gennifer, it seemed that only Kristina was warm and friendly when it came to me. Maybe it was a sort of kindred spirit thing she felt. She was the crack on the perfection of the goddesses, the kind of person the Atrox loves to feed upon and have in his hold.

What in hell was I getting myself in to?

Bird cocked her head back, giving me the ol' once over. "So, you're the Follower that Gennifer never keeps quiet about."

Gennifer's cheeks turned an attractive pink. I smiled to myself, happy that she was thinking about me. That could mean that I was doing Gemma's job perfectly. I couldn't let her down.

"Bird, stop," Helena sighed, throwing the red head flier a look. Bird narrowed her eyes and gave a wicked grin, but bit her tongue nonetheless.

"So, you are the great enemies of the supreme Atrox," I retorted in a sarcastic voice.

"Don't think too highly of your master, huh?" Kristina commented, trying to break the tension between us. Gennifer snorted while I let a secret smile hide on my lips.

Did I think highly of the Atrox?

I don't know. Would you think highly of your boss if they hid behind their shadow from a bunch of adolescents? Exactly…Respect went a long way.

Gennifer scooted over some so that I could sit down next to her at the end of the booth, directly across from Bird, of course. Pleasant, yes. I enjoyed that experience so immensely, let me tell you. I never admired a girl so much, though. She just never warmed up to me. I liked the Daughters, maybe loved them, but truly admired them? Those emotions were specifically reserved for Bird and Gennifer alone, I believe.

"Why are you so interested in my Gennifer?" Bird demanded from me.

I decided to play slick. Why not? I could either win or lose. "I want her soul, of course."

"Leave him alone, Bird," Gennifer struck out, becoming my knight in shining armor, though I was speaking the truth. Her lovely, pure soul was the prize.

"Let's not spend this entire time griping with one another," Helena piped up, her eyes wide with conviction.

I began to realize that it was one thing to spy and stalk from afar, but when it came to the Daughters, you really needed to be up close and personal to understand them. See, staring them each in the face and hearing each word, you began to see each movement and quirk of their individualism. They all had their own ways of reacting to one another. You could tell how much they cared about each other when you sat there and listened to them.

Me, I was never like that. Though I grew up in the age of "free love", love wasn't something I knew. Not their kind of love. Love is an elusive emotion that maybe I just can't seem to grasp because I'm filled with hate, and the more I hate those around me, the more I want to _know_ what love is.

Perhaps Gennifer was right that day I first confronted her. Maybe I'm completely pathetic, and that is why Gemma chose me.

But, the thing is, realizing that, it didn't matter. They wanted me. That was all that _really_ mattered.

"A soul is a lovely thing to crave," Kristina giggled suddenly, causing eyes to swivel her way.

Helena coughed softly, patting her friend's hand. "Kristina, what are you talking about?"

"I don't know. What's going on?"

"Her brain cells are completely fried," Bird muttered, hiding her exquisite face in her hand.

I watched Kristina with interest. I had to say, she was quite funny. I guess I was used to drugs and could say that. People who were high always were funny.

"Nothing, Kristina. Enjoy your drink," Gennifer laughed. _We have to do something about her, or we'll fail against the Atrox._

In the end of my first meeting with the Daughters of the Moon, I actually survived. Mostly because whatever drug Kristina took had taken hold of her. Everyone knows that saying: Don't look a gift horse in the mouth. I wasn't looking. Ha!

After the girls had all left—Helena escorting Kristina to her house—Gennifer fell against me as we breathed in the cool air. It struck me. It had been like…a girl's friends approving of her boyfriend, hadn't it? I twitched. Is that what Gennifer thought of me?

Was I her boyfriend?

We didn't do those kinds of things people going out do. We didn't do anything that I did with Gemma. This thing we had…Was it more than that, more than physical?

"See, wasn't so bad, huh?" She asked me, a tiny smile on her face.

"You four are the elite enemies," I mused, staring down at her.

"Got that right."

This was wrong. I should have abandoned my mission, this quest to make the angel fall from her place. There would always be an emptiness in me for this.

"Strange. Very strange."

She took my hand in hers. I tensed. This was a sweetness, a tenderness I knew I didn't deserve.

"Can I tell you something?" She asked me in a gentle and scared voice.

"What is it?" I didn't like how she sounded.

"About my family. There's something I haven't told you…or the other Daughters."

I raised my eyebrows at this. For sure I thought the Daughters knew everything about each other.

"You might have even heard of her, too," Gennifer continued.

_Gemma_, I thought. Finally, I was going to hear of how the two sisters split. "Who?"

"My twin sister." Gennifer rested her head on my arm, a sigh escaping from her. "She joined the Atrox over a year ago, nearly two. Funny, huh?"

**Next: The Split**


	6. The Split

**Chapter Six: The Split**

Gemma raised an eyebrow at me, a tiny smile cracking at her mouth. "Well, the apprentice returns."

I blinked slowly at her, my eyes searching for the broken soul she must have possessed. How could she not? We were not a whole creature. The Atrox wasn't into wholeness, unless those in its ranks were _Invitus_. And those were easily broken, else wise.

I've heard the story of _Prince_ Stanton.

So when I returned to her, my sunfire demon, I wished to know how she held something broken within her steel-like exterior. I wanted to take her apart, like a toy I had as a kid. I wanted to see how it worked, that toy, and I just indulged myself.

Gemma, however, was a cruel person, not a child's toy. She was not something to pick apart and figure out.

"I thought I'd come home," I said, giving her a smile of my own. I clamped down on the stray and random thoughts I had, knowing she wouldn't purposely dig through my mind but would casually brush up and acquire what it was that I was thinking.

"Yes. I noticed." She laughed, her fists placed tight on her hips. To me, she was looking a little tense, kind of crazed.

"Gemma?" I put her name in a soft question, watching her closely.

It's times like those that you needed to watch for her. My unstable demon, whose life makes so much more sense to me now that the story has been given to me. But, she's still crazy…and abusive.

I clenched my teeth, preparing for her right hook. It didn't come.

"How's Gennifer? Are the plans coming together?"

I winced. _Her_ name on a demon's lips was harsh. Especially after everything.

"Y-yes. She, uh…She's attached to me. Is that the plan?"

Gemma walked up to me, her body on mine as her lips wove their way up my neck to my lips. Her teeth nibbled at me as I put my hands on her waist, pulling her closer, tighter. She could tempt me, it was true. And I had a lot of pent up frustration that I knew she could take away.

Her mouth was pressed tight against mine as she answered my question. "Yes. Make her yours, my pawn. Make her never want to leave you."

I clutched her, and kissed her, and led her to the bed myself. I was aggressive towards Gemma the way she usually was with me, or with anyone else. To me, Gemma wasn't _Gemma_. Not then. No, she was _Gennifer_. The angel, the goddess.

**XXXXX**

_Earlier_

We walked around the park, hand in hand, getting lost among the trees. I waited for Gennifer to talk; this was a story she needed time for.

"I guess you're curious as to why one twin would be a Daughter—"

"And the other a Follower? Yeah, that interests me," I interjected, the corner of my mouth twitching.

"Well, I guess the beginning isn't so hard to figure. We're not identical, my sister Gemma and I. She was born first, my big sister, overlooked by my mother Selene. It was me the Moon Goddess selected as her Daughter, her heir. I can't understand the reasoning for it. Why me, when she was first?" Gennifer asked, her eyes off into the distance. She wasn't asking me; she was asking Selene.

"Maybe there was a quality about you that your sister doesn't possess," I murmured in response anyway. _Like the fact that you're not a psychopath like her._

"Maybe. I don't know. But what I do know is that growing up, Gemma always felt resentful of what I was. I mean, I didn't know I was a Daughter of the Moon until Miss Margaret found me, but I was born with the ability to run."

"And Gemma wasn't."

Gennifer sighed and nodded, pushing a lock of black hair behind her ear. "Exactly. Despite that problem, I was close to my sister. We loved each other. The whole thing, though, really hurt Gemma. She suffered. She was always a little sad, especially when I got together with the Daughters. We were fourteen."

"So," I said. "Let me guess. Gemma became angry, turned her attention to boys, to partying."

"Well, kind of. She didn't really get angry. I think she was just lonely. We used to do everything together, and then I just disappeared from her life. I should have thought about her." Gennifer was beating herself up over this, I could tell. Her mind buzzed with guilt; it oozed all over her body.

I didn't want her to feel that way anymore. She was making whatever walls I had dissolve.

"The people she attached herself to, they were the exact people I told her to avoid. I told Gemma about the Followers, what they were and what they did. She was so interested in them, so interested in proving herself to her little sister."

I stopped walking, hearing something familiar. Even before Gemma joined the Atrox, she was power hungry, searching for a way to be better. I stared into Gennifer's face and wondered how she didn't see what I knew already.

"So, she went seeking the Atrox?" I asked cautiously.

"I've told you about my life, about how our mother died at birth, how our father is never home. I was the only one that loved Gemma. I turned my back on her. I hurt her to the point where she had to go fill herself with lies."

"What then?"

"Gemma has the kind of soul the Atrox feeds on," she choked and I could already see the tears spilling out of her eyes. "I fed her to the wolves, and they ate her right up. It was our fifteenth birthday. She smiled at me that morning. I thought there was something strange in that smile. Do you know that she had taken my information and went to seek out Stanton?"

"Stanton…He turned her," I replied with an edge. He didn't take her, but she went to him willingly. To further herself. To prove herself.

To make herself better than her goddess twin sister, she became a demon.

And now she wanted to take Gennifer with her, make her…what? Below her on the Atrox totem pole, worthless…like me?

"He made her like him. I haven't…"

Gennifer cried harder now, the tears staining her cheeks. I did what I had to do, wanted to do. I cupped her wet face, kissing the tears away from her. I kissed her cheeks until I found her mouth, soft and open and waiting for me. From her, I got a taste of heaven. From her, I got complete trust.

She was mine.

**XXXXX**

Gemma sat up, read to go on now. "Let me ask you, my little puppet."

I rolled over and looked at her attentively. "What?"

"Have you really made progress? Will she choose to become a Follower on her seventeenth birthday?"

"I think so," I answered, my stomach twisting.

"Good. Our birthday is coming up in one month. She has to choose to follow you here."

A month until an angel fell, a demon was chosen, and I would be a true blue Follower.

**Next: The Loss**


	7. The Loss

**AN: This chapter might be a little crude, but I wanted to give way into the current set of Daughters. I don't know, connect my main character to them somehow.**

**Chapter Seven: The Loss**

I didn't find Gennifer a week after the meeting when I went to the park. No, instead I found Kristina, her body racked in tears. At first I thought it was a new kick from drugs, but just touching her mind told me she was dead sober. I stood back at first, just watching her, on the border of approaching her and leaving her behind. Finally, I stepped up to the park bench where she had perched herself on.

"Hello there, Kristina," I whispered, standing in front of the broken girl.

She paused in her crying long enough to lift her eyes up to mine. Small whimpers held her voice as her lips trembled. Her eyes were rimmed red and puffed up.

"What wrong with you?" I continued, not as soft as I would have been if it was Gennifer.

Kristina wiped at her face with the heels of her hands, beginning to hiccup now. I think she tried to tell me because she opened her mouth to a degree where one could communicate with other—or themselves, I suppose—but she just hiccupped louder. More sobs racked her body. I had never seen anyone cry that much.

I waited awhile longer. She continued crying. Gennifer still didn't come.

Eventually, Kristina threw her arms around my waist because I still had the misfortune of standing right in front of her. Awkwardly, I patted her on the head, hoping she would come back to a normalcy of sorts. Finally, her whimpers seemed to cease and the quaking of her shoulders simmered out.

"What has gotten you all upset, _dea_?" I asked, letting her continue to rest into my gut.

"The end," Kristina answered hoarsely.

"What end?" But I was beginning to draw a few conclusions.

"Today is Bird's birthday, her seventeenth," she moaned.

"Her choice comes upon her soon, then?"

And such a pity, too. She really was my favorite, so bold and strong as I mentioned before. To strip away a piece of herself would be such a shame.

"It's come and passed, earlier."

"Why are you so upset, then?"

The girl was quiet for a moment, her fingers curling into my shirt as she tried to respond. "Because…she chose the metamorphosis."

The metamorphosis: The Daughters' journey into the unknown where anything could happen.

"Bird's gone, then?"

"Yes. And then Helena is next, in another week. Gennifer next month. And me? I don't turn seventeen for three more months. It's cruel, what Selene has done to me."

Kristina was going to be the only Daughter for two months. The drug addict would be the only one left to fend off Followers. It was surely a joke.

"I don't want to be alone," she said to me, her blue eyes intensely wide. "What will happen to me?"

"I…I don't know," I admitted, unsure of how to alleviate her fears.

"I'm afraid of what will become of me when Helena decides. She said that she's going to pick the metamorphosis, too."

She was so sad, my heart twisted. Helena had been there to clean up her messes, to provide and care for her. Would Kristina fall due to her absence?

"Maybe she'll change her mind," I offered.

"Not in a week."

"No," I grudgingly agreed. "Not in a week."

Kristina finally let go of me and leaned back against the bench. "And what of Gennifer?"

I raised my eyebrows at her, pressing my lips together. "You should know better than me, right?"

"You want her to make that third choice, don't you?" The blonde telekinetic accused.

"No." And this time, I know I was being completely honest.

**XXXXX**

Not even more than a week later, I found Kristina at a party I was at. As I procured the last glimmer of hope from this hippie girl, she rested in a corner, the flicker of a joint in her fingers and who knew what else in her system.

I snatched the Daughter up before any other Follower got ideas, dragging her away from the field. She was putty in my hands, holding onto me with all her hope. Which is pretty ironic, now that I think back on it.

"Your best friend is gone, and this is how you respect her memory," I laughed, pushing the girl to the ground.

"Gennifer told you."

"Yes. Gennifer told me. What is wrong with you?"

Kristina laughed, and laughed, and laughed. "She's gone, and there is no one to stop me!"

"You do her a disrespect."

The telekinetic sneered at me. "Look at the Initiate go all noble. What about this? Are you still noble?" She pulled off her top, revealing her body underneath. She grabbed her chest and squeezed, grinning at me.

"You should honor Helena by getting clean," I told her, staring her full on.

Honestly, though, was it the Follower status because girls like that had never thrown themselves at me before—high, drunk, or sober—which I'm sure I've mentioned before.

She stood up, dancing in a little circle, and soon after…her skirt was gone too. "I will, I will. But you have to make a bet with me."

Her laughter rang in me ears and her body, well, it rang in other places.

"A bet?"

"If Gennifer goes to the Atrox, you have to watch after me. At least until my choice comes. Deal?"

What made this drug-induced girl so smart? I wasn't sure. But she wasn't talking about saving her fellow sister or mankind, no. Honestly, this group of Daughters seemed to have cared for each other, but they were not so great. It was evident.

"Deal," I finally managed to agree.

Kristina stopped dancing and smiled at me. "I'm going to forget and make a new life for myself."

"You're not going to join the Atrox?"

"No. I could do that now. But I have a higher calling."

"And what's that?" I sneered, finding stoned Kristina to be a tad ugly.

"I went to a fortune teller. She told me that I would have a granddaughter, and that my granddaughter would be special, magical. That she would change the world."

A prophecy…Of what? A future Daughter who would change the world?

Kristina danced closer to me, her naked body enticing. "Now, are you going to fuck me, or will I find someone else?"

It was wrong, yes, but I contributed to the world that night. Actually, my time in the Atrox was a huge contribution. But we have to take this story one bite at a time.

**Next: The Angel**


	8. The Angel

**AN: I'm not sure how much more I will write in this story. I think it's going to be coming to a close here soon. **

**Side Note: This chapter is dedicated to Emersyn. Not only is she a loyal fan of this story, but her birthday is tomorrow.**

**Chapter Eight: The Angel**

"It's sad."

"What is?" I asked.

Gennifer looked up at the stars, each one winking at her as if the cosmos knew a secret she did not. "In two hours, I'll be seventeen."

"Yes. You'll have to make that choice you Daughters have to make," I pushed, wondering if she would tell me. I needed to know. I needed to know if I _failed_.

"Can I ask you something?" Her eyes flickered to me.

My head was resting comfortable on her stomach, rising and falling gently with each breath she took. "Hm?"

"What made you join the Atrox?"

We had never talked about the subject before. She didn't want to get into that with me, found that subject too touchy with her. I got it. I didn't exactly want to tell her it was, you know, _her sister _that turned me.

"A girl."

"A girl?" She prompted, urging me on. She had such a sweet smile on her face.

"Yes. A girl. Beautiful. Hypnotizing. We met at a party," I continued.

"What then?"

I am not a good person. I don't think I ever was. Can people be born wrong? Is that such a possibility? I think I am one of those people. In some messed up way, I think I am worse than those Followers whose greatness has gone down in history. I am a bad person.

"She promised me a party. I was just happy a girl like her was paying attention to me. But she didn't turn out how I expected. She's ruthless and cunning. Now I've met another girl."

"What about her?"

Her fingers grazed through my hair, unaware of my inner conflicts.

"She is one of those girls that are actually prized among Followers. But I like her beyond that prize. I like her a lot," I confessed. Was I truthful, or was I a scoundrel?

"Does she like you?" Gennifer pondered with a smile.

"She might."

"I don't see why she wouldn't. And if she doesn't, well, I'll just take you then."

I stopped breathing. There, she said it. The angel spoke the words I dreaded _and_ wished for. I smiled at her, easing her nervous and embarrassed fears at such an open confession. But I think I was smiling more because I could have her, and Gemma could have her dreams.

What a complicated mess I put myself in.

"Well, I guess we won't have much of a problem, then, will we?" I whispered to her as I got up, leaning over her.

She shifted below me, her eyes wide in innocence. "Does it hurt?"

"Does what hurt?" I asked in return, not sure what she was talking about.

"I don't know, falling."

"Usually. You can fall pretty hard sometimes, skin something."

"I meant when you join the…the Atrox. Does it hurt when you join the Atrox?"

I rested my lips on her forehead. "I know that's what you meant."

"So?"

"No, Angel, it doesn't hurt." _No, the pain comes later._

"Do you think my sister would be happy to see me?"

_Please, don't. I…I can't do this._ "I don't know."

"Will you still be…around?"

She was afraid, afraid to make this choice. She was afraid to make this choice and forever lose me. If I wasn't around, what reason would there be to have joined the Atrox? As far as I knew…

I knew nothing.

"I'll be around."

So I made an empty promise, of course.

"I know what I want to do, then," Gennifer said. "I…"

"Sh." I put a finger on her lips, silencing her request. She raised her eyebrows at me in question.

"Let's wait," I suggested, "until your birthday."

"Two hours?"

I nodded, kissing her neck gently. I wanted to give her time to think this decision over. She didn't deserve this. Oh, God, none of us deserved this kind of live. But she was an angel.

I was a demon. _A demon_.

"How's Kristina?"

I couldn't help but wonder about her. She was talking two kinds of crazy that night; I wanted to make sure she was okay.

"She's sad. She doesn't want to be the last, but she says that she'll wait it out and become a normal person," Gennifer confirmed what I already knew.

So, she wasn't talking because of the drugs.

"She'll still have the Magna Mater," I pointed out.

"Yes, she'll have Miss Margaret." A thoughtful look came over her face. "How soon do you think new Daughters come about?"

"Don't ask me the mystery of Daughters. You're my first batch."

"I mean, it would make sense to have many Daughters all the time. When there is a lapse of Daughters, why doesn't the Atrox take over then, when it is strong and we are weak?"

"I…"

That was a really good point, and I had to give it up to her. I honestly didn't know. It made sense. Did the Atrox live off of the Daughters?

"We're getting close," she whispered to me.

"Yes."

"I know what you're thinking."

"Really?"

"You want me to make another choice," she accused.

"The thought had crossed my mind."

"Strike it from these. I'm not changing my mind."

"I wish you would, Gennifer," I admitted. What was I saying? Her fall meant instant success tickets for Gemma and I. How much more worse could I get at this Follower gig?

Her dark eyes moved to her watch, and she sighed happily. "No more time to argue."

"No more time ever," I continued to argue, despite her words.

Lightly, she pushed me away from her, and I obliged her request. She stood, unsure of how she proclaimed her alignment. Gennifer lifted her amulet over head, holding it up high.

"I give up the mantle of Daughter of the Moon, Atrox. You are my master now. I willingly serve you."

And that was it, the death of an angel, the end of a Daughter.

**Next: The Fall**


	9. The Fall

**Chapter Nine: The Fall**

I winced from Gennifer's words, but they had been said, and it was final.

I stood up, glancing over my shoulder as Gemma emerged from the shadows behind us. Her eyes flashed yellow under the moon as she walked over to me, a wicked smile on her face. The shaken and shocked look on Gennifer's face clearly spelled out that she was not expecting to see her sister at all.

"Hello, Gen," Gemma whispered, walking ever closer to her sister. I was paralyzed, literally rooted to the spot. I wanted to stop this unnatural reunion, but it was happening regardless.

"Gem…" Gennifer breathed, her amulet slipping from her fingers. "Are you—"

Gemma's fingertips danced along her sister's face. "I'm here to take your hope, Sister."

"Okay, okay," she obliged, waiting for Gemma to do what she had to do.

I turned away, not able to watch. This was it, the fall, the rise, the turning. My eyes landed on Gennifer's once amulet. As Gemma commenced to take her hope, the brilliant object began to char over as if it knew the betrayal taking place.

I turned away, not able to watch. This was it, the fall, the rise, the turning. My eyes landed on Gennifer's once amulet. As Gemma commenced to take her hope, the brilliant object began to char over as if it knew the betrayal taking place.

"Welcome to my world, Gennifer," Gemma said with such finality, I wondered if this was the same girl who had stolen _my_ hope. Indeed, was she even the same girl whose hope Stanton had whisked away?

Gennifer looked to me. What I saw was not natural. She seemed drained; her eyes held little now that she was like me, a low Initiate. The change seemed to hurt her hard. But then, if you went from representing hope to _being_ hopeless… Well, that would probably take its toll.

"How did you know, Gemma?" Gennifer asked softly, looking back at her sister.

Gemma pat the fallen goddess's cheek, a look of feigned pity on her demonic face. "Why, he's my Initiate, of course. Oh, you didn't know, that's right…" She tsk'd, her tongue clicking along her teeth. "Might as well start you bright Atrox day filled with the truth."

I couldn't take it. Not like this. "Shut up, Gemma!"

Gennifer blinked slowly, but she seemed a little devoid. "I want to hear this."

"You hear that, sweetie?" Gemma sang sweetly—diabetic overdose sweet—at me.

"Stop."

"Gen, my dearest sister. I think we're bothering him."

"I want to understand what's going on."

"No. Gennifer, nothing is."

Gemma inclined her head and that smile of hers returned. The one where she held her ambition of power. "Oh, I get it. Okay, Gennifer, you see, you don't demand anything of us. I will be your _lecta_, and he a Follower. And you are just an Initiate."

Gennifer finally looked stunned again, her head snapping back at such a tone coming form her sister. I sighed in relief that Gemma didn't tell what I had done, but what came next might have been far worse.

Gemma stroked my arm, a teasing look in her eye. "Another thing, Sister…He's mine. I made him… He belongs to me."

Gennifer quickly swung her eyes to mine. "_Her?_ Gemma was that girl who promised you a party?" She cried shrilly.

I didn't answer her. What reason was there to? The evidence seemed plain enough. _Gemma_ seemed plain enough.

"I don't like others touching _my_ property," Gemma warned with conviction.

**XXXXX**

We had done it. Gotten our illustrious "promotions". Because, after all, who doesn't want to be risen to the status of a Follower? It's not a very demeaning term at all. Follower… What was the Atrox thinking? We have more opinions than Manson's cult members put together (of course, that came a few years later, though).

And Gemma got what she wanted; she got high praise. She got that Cold Fire to touch her beautiful skin and burn away the mortality hindering her.

I remember the chanting, and the way her title rolled off my lips despite myself. But what I remember most is Gennifer as she stood close to the fire, the flames reflecting off her face. She watched her sister closely. I don't know what made me do it, but it was like being in the past, and I let myself slip into her mind though she now knew I could and was.

--_destroy you, Gemma. I will find a way to—_

Quickly, her head snapped up and she was looking at me. I pulled from her mind, but she was smooth and entered mine instead. I tasted her power, felt her thirst for it, saw how much more powerful she truly was.

_Why do you follow her? Why do you let her control you? I see what she does._

_I don't know._

I shut down my mind, blocked Gennifer off before she had a chance to invade my mind even more. I couldn't risk Gemma finding out. I couldn't risk anyone knowing.

Maybe I did have a piece of my hope restored, just enough to keep me going, to let me live as a Follower, among these idiots and thieves and schemers.

**XXXXX**

Kristina's choice came and went. She was true to her word, intensely sober and picked to be human. I watched from a distance. She was accompanied by a woman I assumed to be Miss Margaret—who, by the looks of things, didn't seem much older than them.

In an odd way, I felt proud of the wayward Daughter and hoped that she would be a good mother to the child I found out she was carrying. Sober or not, Kristina was still an open book.

I just hoped that… That I wasn't the poor kid's father.

Our years of servitude went on, but the toll of Gennifer's did not lessen. I carried the guilt of that incident like a lead weight within me. I questioned it often. Did Followers feel things like guilt? It wasn't like I could just ask anyone, and screw going to the Head Shadow for helpful advice.

And as I toiled in my position, comfortable to remain a_ lecta's_ lapdog, Gennifer rose in ranks, growing powerful, commanding, seductive.

Often Gemma and Gennifer would meet together, each twin testing the other.

I felt it would end badly. The fall had twisted something in Gennifer, and I believe it had to do with me.

The end was coming close, though, if only someone had warned me. But if we knew the future, what fun would there be?

**AN: This story is coming to close soon. A few more chapters, and that'll be the end of Fell From. Early warning. :D**

**Next: The Demon**


	10. The Demon

**Chapter Ten: The Demon**

There was a reason Stanton chose Gemma, even if she did throw herself at him, as Gennifer had revealed to me only a few years earlier. It gnawed at my mind. I knew enough now to know that Stanton chose to turn people sparingly, choosing those he felt would succeed. He was a gifted Follower and produced such as I was led to believe. Take for example that new kid he took on, Tymmie I think his name was. Bright, dangerous. There were whispers that he might be the next Gemma, but he didn't ascend in the amount of time she did.

I needed to know why Stanton made a demon such as Gemma. Why he chose her. Why she was a _lecta_ now, why I was a Follower now, why Gennifer was fallen.

It had to have started with him, right?

Stanton's cold blue eyes focused intently on me as I fidgeted before him. I still didn't like the guy, and he still gave me the creeps. "You want to talk about Gemma?"

"Well, yes, I—"

He held up his hand, shaking his head at me. "Go bother someone else with your bullshit."

"You know her, Stanton!" I exclaimed, tired of his 'Holier Than Thou' attitude.

"She hasn't spoken to me since the ceremony, boy. What makes you think I know Gemma?"

There, my opening. "You turned her."

"I saw something, something the Atrox would want. And she delivered, didn't she?"

He held a smile on his face. He was _proud_ of her. She was a monster…and _he was proud_. I stepped back, looking him over carefully.

"I only wish my others can be half as good as her," he commented, obviously referring to Tymmie.

"I hear good things about him…" The words were heavy on my tongue.

"He's lazy. Too ambitious, maybe, for such a lazy bastard," Stanton contradicted, a scowl emerging on his face. He eyes me then, carefully. "What do you really want to know about Gemma?"

"Why did you pick her, really?"

"I picked her… I picked her because she wanted revenge on her sister. That girl, Gennifer, whom you brought to her, as I recall. She's not the kind of girl who can survive within the rank of the Atrox."

"How do you know?"

He could pinpoint my guilt so easily, break me down and know exactly how I worked. It was cruel, but maybe it was how he became who he was throughout the centuries.

"Daughters rarely make it as Followers. History tells us so."

**XXXXX**

"Where is she?"

Gennifer's soft voice took me by surprise, and I watched as she formed from the shadows beside me.

I shrugged. "I think she said something about checking out property in Nefandus."

"Is she moving you into the doghouse in the back then?" The girl joked, a half smile on her face.

"Probably building it as we speak," I bantered in return.

She held herself at her elbows, a dry laugh reaching my ears. "It wouldn't surprise me, not now."

"Yeah."

"Let me ask you something."

"Okay." I nodded, preparing for this long-awaited interrogation.

"It's been, I don't know, at least eleven years since we first met?" She reminisced, and I remembered those few weeks of stalking those Daughters, of watching their every move.

"Nearly twelve," I corrected.

"I can't believe how long it's been."

She had such a sad smile. Stanton was right; Gennifer wasn't meant to be a Follower.

"Who needs to remember time when you're immortal?" I posed to her.

"I loved you. I gave up my life for you," she me, a brittle tone scratching her throat.

What could I do? Was I supposed to just stand there, listening to her, try to respond, or was I supposed to reach out for her, hold her again, touch her again?

"I—"

"Did you know?" Gennifer cut me off.

"Know what?" I was playing dumb. I knew exactly what she meant.

"I'm not stupid. I've figured it out over the years. I just want to her it from your lips personally," she demanded of me. It was so little a demand. I owed her that much at least, didn't I?

"I think Gemma chose me because she knew you so well. She knew you'd fall for me, and she knew I'd listen to her. She was right."

"She's just using you."

"Yes."

No point in denying that, I was well aware of the fact that I was just a tool for Gemma. Gennifer's jaw clenched as I agreed with her, dark eyes beginning to narrow. She may not have known it, but she was definitely more like her sister than she thought.

"It's not fair!"

"Our life rarely is."

"She won't let me see you because you belong to her. I can't be with you. I don't _want_ anyone else," she confessed.

Finally, I took a step towards her, and she took a step back.

"I would give your life back," I told her gently, fully aware of what I'd done.

Her entity whispered across my mind, pulling my thoughts right out of my head.

"You were part of this, yes, but Gemma is a demon. She did this to us."

She ran her fingers through her hair, smirking slightly. I was sorry; she was vengeful. I tasted it as she opened her mind to me.

"We were made for each other," I laughed, the air snorting through my nose.

"I'll get her for you," Gennifer promised.

I listened to her words, wondering what she meant.

"Gennifer?"

"I'll free us. I'll vanquish the demon to sever our bonds."

"Gennifer," I said calmly, "that won't release us from the Atrox."

Her eyebrows furrowed at me, as if what I said was utterly ridiculous. "I know."

"Because we're not _Invitus_. We willing came," I continued to reason with her.

"I just want to be free to be with you," she told me wistfully, that sad smile plastered to her face.

"What do you plan to do?"

Her steps were soft and quiet, her kiss gentle and long-awaited, too. She twisted her fingers into my shirt, letting her lips linger on mine but nothing more. Then she dissolved, gone before I could do anything.

_Just as I said. I'm going to vanquish her._

**AN: There are only three more chapters left of this story. Soak it up while you can!**

**Next: The Clash**


	11. The Clash

**Chapter Eleven: The Clash**

About two years later, we relocated. The Atrox gave word that we were to tail the new Daughters, who were in a new location, and some of us ended up going to set up grounds. I was one of them. Stanton and Tymmie joined me along with his newest Initiate, whose name I barely remember. Gennifer tagged along, too, with an Initiate of her own, a girl called Dana. There were others who decided to make the move, those who wanted to prove themselves worthy to the Atrox and gain favor.

I wasn't ready to prove anything more than I had, but I consented to the Relocation Program. Gemma spent more and more time in Nefandus than with me these days, surrounding herself in _servi_ and connecting with the other dark powers of the Atrox. I wanted to be around those whom I had grown familiar with, and I had a rather large dislike of Nefandus that I just couldn't put my finger on.

I went back to my old ways. I went back to stalking Daughters. I watched them at my safe distance, completely fascinated with them as I was with Gennifer and Bird, Kristina and Helena. I didn't get involved with them as I did my girls; I didn't have a reason to this time around. But I knew their names: Ally, Nicole, Zoe, and P.J.

Her presence was welcomed when she came up on my side, sitting hip to hip with me. "They're beautiful."

"They are," I agreed.

"Do you follow them around and jump on their backs, too?" She joked, nudging me in the ribs.

"Only one Daughter held that kind of attention for me," I told her with a smile, sipping my coffee.

"Oh? What was she like?"

"Gorgeous. Intelligent. Sweet. She was really caring."

"She sounds caring. Whatever happened to her?"

"Well, you see, my young Follower. The story is, she was a Daughter, her sister a Follower. We wanted power, and she was our meal ticket. The girl made me human again, though. I don't think I've looked back since," I recounted to the fallen goddess beside me.

Gennifer sighed, tucking a stray piece of her black hair behind her ear. "They look like good kids, those girls."

"They are," I confirmed. I had been watching them long enough to know. They weren't my girls, it was obvious.

"Good. Then they'll know not to fall for a dopey Initiate like I did," she teased, taking my coffee cup.

"Nice. Yes, thank you."

She took a drink of my caffeine substance, made a tart face, and shoved the cup back at me. "Ugh. Is that straight black?"

I cradled my coffee cup carefully. "I like the straightforward taste of it."

"Nasty. It tastes all wrong," she told me, lecturing me on my taste in coffee.

"Not to me."

We watched the Daughters as they joked around with each other, gossiping about some boy or another. Silence ensued with one another, a comfortable silence shared by two people who knew each other too well.

"Can I ask you something?" Gennifer finally spoke after a half hour lapse and we were left to watch nothing but scenery.

"You usually do whenever we meet," I consented, throwing my arm around her casually as a few people walked by.

"Do you still love me?" She asked carefully, biting her lip.

I glanced at her, let a smile spread on my face, and pulled her closer to me. "Gennifer, I never stopped. I know these years have been…"

"Oh, you being Gemma's lapdog and me being her meal ticket sister? Yeah, dampens any relationship, I think."

I scratched the side of my face with my free hand, chuckling. "Yes, thank you."

"You've really changed," she commented, turning her head to look at me.

"How so?"

"You have the body of a young man still, but you've matured in a way that makes you very attractive."

"Are you flirting with me, Gennifer?"

Her arms came up around my neck, her lips on my cheek. "I never stopped either."

"Oh, good. This will make this far easier," I mumbled, touching and kissing her as much as possible, despite the fact that we were in public.

"W-wait. Not here, you pervert," she laughed in my ear, though she had been the one to climb on _my_ lap in public.

Breathing heavily, I sat back, holding her hips in a rough grip, wanting more from her. I wanted it all. _I wanted her more than any power in the world._ "Why not? We can manipulate their minds so that they don't see us."

A look of shock entered her wide eyes. "You are bad!"

"I've missed you, Gennifer. And why not use our dark powers for something truly fun?" I asked her wickedly.

She kissed my neck, snuggling her face there. "I want to, but I have to be getting back. I just came to find you for two reasons."

"Reasons?" I asked curiously.

"One is Kristina. Do you remember her?"

It was a ridiculous question. I never even forgot her. "Yes."

"She had a son. He's going to be fifteen soon. He's real cute, a looker for sure. He's bound to break hearts," Gennifer rambled on and on.

I remembered that night, the one I found Kristina at the party, the night I had sex with her.

"What about it?"

The fallen angel gave me a knowing look, and I wondered if she knew all of my secrets. "He actually seems like a good kid, better than what his mom was at his age. He's entirely reckless, though. I wonder where he got that from."

"Kristina was reckless…" I muttered. "What did she name him?"

She smiled as if she ensnared me in a trap. "She named him Vincent."

"What in hell made her name him that?"

"I wonder, too."

With a sigh, I decided to prod for the rest of what Gennifer had to say. "What was that other thing, then?"

"I'm making my move."

"What are you talking about?"

She shifted on my lap, an eerie glint in those dark eyes. "It's finally time to take on Gemma."

"You really have a unique way of killing an intense mood," I grumbled at her, not sure if I was angry of worried about this plan that she had.

"I'm serious. The end is coming, my love. Prepare for it," she whispered.

I didn't understand how to prepare for something like that. What was she talking about?

"Gennifer…"

But she was already getting off me and giving me that farewell smile.

**XXXXX**

It was later in my single-bedroom apartment that I heard the yelping, the strangled voice of Gemma crying out for me. She used the wall as a support as I came running towards her. The _lecta_ was gasping for air, clutching the white-wash walls with clawed hands, face twisted up. I could see various cuts and scratches along her arms and especially her face.

"Gemma, what happened?" I exclaimed, feeling paralyzed to the spot.

"The bitch attacked me! Rushed my home with a half dozen Regulators and _attacked me!_"

"Gennifer did this?"

Gemma sank to the floor, trying to catch her breath, "You knew about this?"

"No, I mean—"

The door busted in, and the rotted, ugly face of one of the Regulators shoved through the splintered door. I could see several more behind this one, and I scrunched up my nose. I had to do something.

"Gemma…Get up," I commanded.

"She doing this, but you'll help me?" she questioned in such a tiny voice.

I grabbed her hand roughly. This wasn't the time for questions.

**Next: The Showdown**


	12. The Showdown

**Chapter Twelve: The Showdown**

That was clever, using Regulators. Regulators could destroy all kinds of Followers; it must have taken Gennifer years to get the Regulators to finally trust her.

Gemma clung to me as we materialized on the other side of town. She clawed at me, eyes wide in…fear?

"What are you doing?" She yelled at me with acid in her voice. "We need to keep going!"

Squaring my jaw, I finally let it hit me. Why was I trying to save Gemma? Why was I carrying her around and letting her get her strength back? The answer was simple once I got to thinking about it: I didn't need witnesses in on the turning of the sister. I dropped Gemma where she was, tired of having to be used by her.

"We can't keep running, Gemma. They have our scents. Can't you just accept your end?"

My sunfire beauty looked up at me, a mixture of mingling confusion and admiration growing in her spiteful eyes. "When did you grow balls?"

"I'm tired, Gemma. I'm tired of this life," I said to her.

"I thought you loved me. Isn't that why you're here?"

"Maybe once. But you promised me a party, and my entire existence has been a funeral procession."

Gennifer giggled from the side, finally arriving with her new allies. Gemma stared up at her. Gennifer stared back down, but she spoke to me.

"Get away from here. Back away, and let me take care of this."

Call it intuition, but something nagged at me. It was a pull in my lead stomach and my tortured heart. I shouldn't leave. I should have been there. When you get those feelings, you should _listen_ to them. I only half-listened.

I got out of Gennifer's way, far enough to be away from the action, but close enough to see what was going on and hear it.

The Regulators closed in around Gemma, and the _lecta_ seethed with anger as she climbed to her feet. Gennifer stood between them and her sister, hands on her hips. Her stance was proud and domineering. Gemma was cornered. I shuddered at the thought of what would happen to her.

And yet, I felt awful at the same time. Gemma had some pluses, and she had accepted me long before anyone else did. She was just a lonely girl, transforming her jealousy of her twin sister into something wrong. Yes, she needed to be stopped, but maybe not like this.

"For him, Gennifer? You would get rid of me for him?" Gemma cried out. Her shoulders twitched; I couldn't tell if she was crying or having random muscle spasms.

"It's not for him. I think, in the beginning, when I learned the truth after you crossed me, it was _about_ him. Now it's about us," Gennifer revealed, the clarity of her answer stunning both Gemma and myself.

"Us?" Her sister questioned.

"This feud between us, this feud you began. You're too dangerous, Gemma. I know what the Atrox is about. I was a Daughter of the Moon. You have to be stopped before you destroy us all," Gennifer told her rather calmly. There was a strange sadness to her voice, as if she was disconnected to what she was involved in.

"You would destroy me, your sister?"

"Why not? You weren't thinking of me when I was turned."

I took a deep breath, watching this all carefully. Was this it, the finale? I saw Gennifer's head turn, her eyes going to the Regulator behind her. My finger twitched. She shouldn't have done that. I cried out in my mind, the words exploding with her mistake. Gemma was a cornered dog, but she would stroke at any given moment to free herself.

_GENNIFER!_

Gemma's hand reached out as the other sister gave her final order, and Gennifer's dark midnight hair was ensnared by Gemma's fingers. Gemma was a genius, of course, and if she was going down, so was her attacker.

I began to run all too late, forgetting what I was. It's amazing what Followers can do to other Followers, and Gemma was _lecta_. Like I said, she was a genius, and I think even Gennifer underestimated her. Forcing her head to turn, Gennifer's eyes stared into the similar pool of her sister's too different face. Gennifer didn't even have time to think. With a wicked smile, one not uncommon for her, Gemma trapped the fallen goddess in one of her memories. I could only imagine which one. Out of spite, it was probably one of us. It was Gemma, after all…

Gennifer's body crumpled to the ground like a rag doll, and the Regulators were on Gemma in an instant. She looked over at me before they swamped her, and it sounds unearthly, but I saw both of those girls staring back at me before Gemma's body was taken over.

That was it. I stumbled over myself, melded into the shadows to stop myself from falling into the feast, and waited for it all to be over. It was the end. The death of an angel, the defeat of a demon, and a man was left in their wake. Gemma didn't even put up a fight as the Regulators overcame her; she just accepted it as I told her to do.

I waited, hours maybe, before going for Gennifer's body. It was just a shell now, with her mind being trapped inside Gemma's as she was destroyed. I sat beside her and listened to the sounds around me, not sure what else to do yet. I didn't cry or plead for her to come back. That was just a pointless waste of energy. I just waited until I could decide what to do with her body.

Burn. I was going to burn her. Fire purified life, and that's what Gennifer deserved. She deserved to be purified for mine and Gemma's actions.

**XXXXX**

Life was empty after the demise of the twins. I wasn't normal by Follower standards, but they tolerated me for who I studied under and what I'd done, so it made life simple. When I heard another Daughter fell, and that Stanton had done it, I shuddered with the thought. Had no one learned from my mistakes? Was that still our goal?

Still, it was a few years later that I actually went to see Stanton, and that girl Zoe that Gennifer and I had watched was well on her way to being used by that horrid _Cincti_ member.

"It's been awhile," Stanton said to me as I weakly smiled at him.

"There was something I wanted to ask you," I replied, shrugging my shoulders.

"About Zoe Reese."

"Why her?" I asked. _Like Gemma, why that girl?_

"She wanted it," Stanton told me firmly because that was all there was to it. "Let me ask you something."

"Okay."

"I know you're not meant for this life. Why did you become a Follower?"

I had a few years now to really think on that. "I just really wanted to get laid," I laughed, answering as honestly as possible.

"You could be a legend around here," the prince told me, but his words meant nothing to me. I shrugged to show that, and he finally seemed to get it where as the other glory-seeking Followers who had also told me that didn't.

"By the way, that Daughter, Kristina. She just had a granddaughter last night. It seems she's the second of a new batch of Daughters," he informed me.

"Why are you telling me?" I asked softly. _A granddaughter…_

"Gennifer told me Kristina's son was yours."

I watched him carefully, a fire sparking along my body. "Why were you talking to Gennifer about such things?"

A strange smile overcame his face, lighting up those frightening blue eyes. "Who do you think gave her the idea to use Regulators?"

I laughed softly, taking the information in stride. Followers, what a bunch of backstabbing creeps. And now I had a granddaughter to see before I left the world.

**AN: Alright, the next chapter will be the final chapter of Fell From!!**

**Next: The End**


	13. The End

**AN: And here it is, the final chapter to ­****Fell From****. Thanks to all my reviewers and readers. Without you, there would be no me. I think…**

**Chapter Thirteen: The End**

Los Angeles. What a pretty city, a place I could really get in to. Apparently, two of the new Daughters were already here, so it seemed that ambitious Followers would soon be relocating themselves to this place. Me, on the other hand, I think I'll be staying out of this one. Gemma did leave that home behind in Nefandus, and despite not liking it there, I thought I could make more of a difference in that infernal place than here in the real world.

Before I could move on, though, I had to make one final stop, which was the only reason I was in Los Angeles now. I stared through the window into the maternity ward, watching rows of sleeping babies, counting the number of pink blankets, realizing I really didn't know which little girl she was. I was ready to give up when I finally saw it, that ridiculous pendant that gave all the goddesses away. I rested my forehead on the plate glass, watching her as the amulet glowed and the baby grew a bit agitated.

It brought a smile to my face. She was already angry by my presence. I glanced at her name. _Vanessa Cleveland_.

"Cleveland. And how do you suppose she got my last name, Vanessa? Your grandmother is the devil, remember that," I whispered, blowing air through my lips. She had to have tracked my parents down somehow. We _did_ come from the same city. She must have given our son my name. Crazy goddess…

Still, it was bringing a smile to my face. I had a legacy, at least, a family to carry on my name. So, I guess I had to be thankful to Kristina for that.

"Oh, hello. Are you waiting for a nurse, too?"

Startled, I turned quickly on the voice. It belonged to an older woman, her blonde hair graying, blue eyes collecting wrinkles around them. No doubt about it; this was Kristina. She looked good, mature. A surge of pride rose up in me. Her eyes widened in recognition of my face.

"Oh, my. You look just like my son, Vincent," she managed to whisper, hand on her heart. I worried if I could give the old woman a heart attack by popping up like this.

"Hello," I greeted, smiling kindly at her.

"Why, you're too young to be Vincent's father," she chuckled, as if it were silly to think it was actually _him_. "You must be another Cleveland floating around, aren't you?"

"Yes," I agreed, finding that much easier to do.

"Well, you've arrived just in time! Your niece is in there…Um…"

"You can call me…Er…Jim," I told her, thinking of the first name that popped into my head. Sadly, it sounded frighteningly similar to Gemma's.

"Her name is Vanessa. Oh, she is just beautiful," Kristina gushed. She was so excited. "Would you like to hold her, Jim?" She asked me as she signaled the maternity ward nurse.

I was apprehensive. I didn't deserve to taint this goddess, too, though she carried my blood in her veins. "Maybe that's not a good idea. You just met me, and your son—"

"Nonsense. You're family. Vincent's little brother, I can tell."

When they say you lose your memories, they really weren't kidding. Kristina held Baby Vanessa out to me, her amulet glowing bright as day to announce my evil presence. She stared at it for a minute, like things were clicking, but a motherly smile overtook her face, and I had no choice but to take the infant from her arms.

I never held a child before, and it was a little awkward, to tell the truth. She lay lightly, cradled in my bent arms. Her face was scrunched up, eyes screwed closed, but she was quiet. She was beautiful. A sense of true tranquility overtook me, and I felt at peace with my over-extended youth.

As soon as Kristina saw I was being good with Vanessa, she took up conversation with the nurse. I took that opportunity to talk to my granddaughter.

"This life given to you will be hard, but don't give up. It wasn't your fault. You were destined to be a Daughter of the Moon. I think that you just might be the redemption of these two girls I once knew, my redemption, and even your grandmother's. No pressure, though," I laughed softly. "You will do a wonderful job. But I can tell it'll be hard. Then again, obtaining redemption usually is.

"Kristina, I have to go. Tell Vincent that he's a good kid, from what sources told me," I announced, not caring if I sounded crazy to the older woman at the moment.

Indeed, as I handed Vanessa over to her, she was giving me a strange look, but that was okay. I was a Follower. I was used to it.

"See you around, Kristina." I left quickly, trying to think.

Had Stanton been trying to do a good thing when he told me about Vanessa? Had Gennifer by telling Stanton? Well, I had an eternity to think about those answers.

Who am I?

I'm just a kid from one of those broken homes where the parents didn't understand love enough to show me it.

I'm just a kid who decided a lifetime with a pretty girl was better than what my parents had, even if it included the Atrox.

I'm just a kid who fell in love with a Daughter of the Moon, impregnated another, and broke that first one's heart.

I'm just a gullible kid who fell for everything he was told because he wanted something more out of life.

I'm really just a no-name Follower with a story to tell. I'm the cause and effect. Cause…and effect… If not for me, where would Gemma be? Would Vanessa exist? Would Gennifer have lived a normal life?

Like I said, I'm just one of many Followers with a special story, one that needed to be told. Maybe you should listen more closely. Others could be speaking as well.

But we're just Followers. Who'd really want to listen to the stories of our lives, and how we all fell from grace?


End file.
